Hello Heartcry family,
Time just seems to be flying by now that we are back on the road traveling again. May has been a very full month with some really wonderful opportunities to connect with friends around the country. We were also delighted to host Pastors Craig and Monie Lotze from Spokane, WA, USA who visited us on their way through the UK to Europe. It was so special to connect in person again.
This season is also such a time of celebrating special jubilees. It was such an incredible joy to celebrate with Betel of Britain their 25th anniversary at their brand-new headquarters building, Anchor Point, in Birmingham. Both the building and the people are such a testament to the faithfulness of God, to miraculous provision and to lives radically transformed from addiction to freedom and joy! This Betel community serves the poorest and most broken in our society and enables them to be fully healed and restored. Betel is an adventure of faith, operating with no government funding at all and offering its ministry free of charge to those in need. For their anniversary they have conducted a social return on invest study (SROI) which demonstrated that the annual benefit to Betel residents, tax payers and the State was a saving of £36 million per year…and to the State alone a SROI of £11.8 million annually on saved welfare benefits, court fees, prison and medical costs. The key ingredient in this success story is the “Jesus factor” and it is profoundly moving to hear the stories of addictions broken and lives transformed as these men and women encounter Jesus and His power to save. Of those surveyed over a 10 year period, 93% reported complete freedom from addiction and 82% were back in employment, mainly using skills learned while at Betel. Biblically, a jubilee was a time when chains were broken, debt was cancelled and lives went free. Betel is a phenomenal picture of this redemption, with dignity and purpose restored!
As we reflected on this over the weekend, we realised that in June the UK will be celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee marking 70 years of Queen Elizabeth’s reign. Interestingly, platinum as a metal is characterised by its ability to bear weight but remain malleable and able to be shaped into beautiful, resilient jewellery. It is often called a “noble metal” because it is un-reactive. What a beautiful picture: let’s pray that in the hands of God, the master craftsman, we can be soft enough for Him to shape us, resilient enough to bear weight under pressure, and of noble enough character as to respond to the Holy Spirit rather than react negatively to circumstances around us. Rachel preached a message recently where she used this phrase: “When you cannot control what is happening around you, decide to control your response to all that is happening around you instead, and stubbornly choose to lean in and trust God”. So, let’s make June a month to upgrade trust and lean into the goodness of God.
Everywhere we have ministered over the last few weeks we have encountered a deep cry for greater intimacy with God, a hunger for His presence and power and a fresh longing to be filled with His Spirit. The Elim Leaders’ Summit in Harrogate was a deep time where many leaders cried out to God for a fresh outpouring in their movement. Rachel ministered powerfully and was led to ask several prophetic questions to help provoke and shape new thinking in the leadership of the churches. In her seminar we were also privileged to pray for so many leaders and ask for refreshing and renewal of vision. This is a time when structures are being reshaped as we yield to God in a new way.
What an honour to be a midwife in all that God is birthing through remarkable people at this time! After one speaking engagement where Rachel was ministering this month, she received a testimony from a lady she had had a word for in the meeting. The essence of the word was to allow the Lion of Judah to fight her battles for her rather than fight as a tiger in her own strength and be overwhelmed. The next week, this lady faced a situation in her business where she had been battling to be paid for a job she had completed but payment had been delayed since February with no response from the company that owed her the money. As she was preparing to send a strongly worded email out of anger and sheer frustration, she remembered the prophetic word. She decided instead to send a more gentle, friendly and personal text message to the owner of the company even though she would normally receive no response to such messages. To her utter amazement and great joy, not only did the owner instantly reply but they also apologised for the delay and paid the invoice immediately! If we will trust, He will fight for us!
As you will know, we have had so many incredible testimonies of miracles from our partners in Moldova as they serve the refugees in Ukraine. We have posted an update from them on our website and we would love you to continue to join us in praying for them, not least as Moldova is feeling unsettled by Putin’s threats to its own borders. You can read the update here https://heartcryforchange.com/projects-moldova/help-for-ukraine/ .
As we look ahead to the next couple of months, we will be expanding our sphere of ministry into Europe in June (Vienna, Austria) and then USA in July…we cannot wait! Please do pray for us especially as flight cancellations and rescheduling is still so common with airline staff shortages and other issues. Please also pray for Rachel and Gordon on vacation with their family for the first week of June. They have been affected by the travel chaos but are determined to enjoy their time away!
Here is a brief overview of some of the main public ministry opportunities in June:
Ministry Dates For June 2022
5 Fresh Bread Message – Heartcry online social media platforms (Helen)
1-7 Rachel & Gordon Holiday/Vacation
9-13 Leadership Academy, Vienna, Austria (Rachel & Gordon)
18-19 Leadership Retreat, hosted by Riverside Church, Exeter, UK (Rachel & Gordon)
25-26 Ministry weekend, Letchworth Garden City Church, UK (Rachel & Helen)
30 Betel Derby visit (Rachel, Gordon and Helen)
Thank you for all your ongoing support. We love and appreciate you so much!
With our love and appreciation,
Helen and Rachel & Gordon too!